The Will to Power
by Silver Nightingale
Summary: Xenosaga Episode One: Der Wille zur Macht [novelization]
1. Prologue

The Will to Power

June 7, 2006

by: Silver Nightingale

---

20xx A.D.

Lake Turkana

Kenya

Beneath the glaring heat of the sun, they dug. Indeed, exhaustion came closer and closer with each moment that passed by but the feeling went unnoticed. And why should it not? Most, if not all, belonged in one of the predominant tribes in the vicinity. They were both used to hard work and often volunteered to aid archeologists in their excavations. All were scattered amongst the arid land, each belonging in their own group in charge of a particular area. All were intent on making this current excavation a success, and so they dug.

Serving as the base of operations, which doubled as a reprieve from the high temperature, was a simple white tent that stood out amidst the desert landscape. Two men exited from the shade. The taller one was lighter in skin tone and was wearing a pair of traditional glasses. Although he was only dressed quite casually, which was appropriate for the warm climate, he has a distinct academic air. "...Thanks," he worded his gratitude as he slowly faced his companion. "Concentrate on the northern cliff tomorrow. The ground there is hard so be careful when you dig."

"Yes, sir." The other man nodded in reply.

"Doctor! Dr. Masuda!" Another voice suddenly cried. He waved a hand above his head in order to catch attention more quickly.

The man in glasses, now identified as Dr. Masuda, gave the newcomer a concerned look. "What is it?" He questioned as the man bent down to catch his breath. "Did you find something?"

"Yeah," the man hurriedly stated. "We followed the corridor from the lakeside. It matches the location described on the research paper..."

"That must be it!" Dr. Masuda regarded his companion. He then returned his eyes to the man before him. "Good, show us where it is."

With a hasty nod, the man proceeded to guide the two towards the said location. "It's different from the others." He elaborated.

"I knew it!" Dr. Masuda exclaimed in triumph.

The man then stopped and pointed to a place that is half-surrounded by the other diggers. "It's over there."

Dr. Masuda knelt to view a strange glyph on the ground before he went down on his hands and feet for a closer examination. His hand brushed the glyph free from the remaining dirt and saw a slot near its center. His fingers lingered there for a couple of seconds and then his eyes widened in realization. "This must be...!" His hand immediately extracted a silver artifact from his breast pocket. He then aligned it to the slot and fitted it in. It was a perfect match.

All of a sudden, green light crept along the intricate carvings of the glyph and the center of the silver-colored object glowed white. Two sets of illuminated yet unreadable text appeared on the glyph's sides. Beneath the peaceful lake's surface, something began to stir. The earth rumbled as if angered by a rude awakening. Dimly, green light glimmered to life on the lake bottom. The ground shook more violently. On land, everyone and everything fell. A foreign black platform rose towards the lake surface that caused water to spurt up and, just as quickly, back down. It formed a pathway bathed with burning red light in elaborate patterns. A short while after, an eight-pointed platform reminiscent of a star emerged.

Dr. Masuda unsteadily stood and made his way closer to the lake shore just in time to see yellow light stream up from the star platform. Slowly, a massive golden monolith started to take form. The shape was similar to both the slot and the artifact--a cross between a rectangle and a crucifix. At its center was a wondrous emerald paragon. The monolith sent a steady burst of splendor up the sky. All were in awe.

"That light..." Dr. Masuda murmured.

The clouds embraced the sun. Darkness crept upon the land. Everything turned still--the moment of calm. And then rain began to pour...

---

AN: This is the first, and probably last, note. It would simply include my reason for doing this novelization and there is only one: self-satisfaction. That is my sole reason and aim. For the record, updates would be done very randomly. That is all.


	2. Chapter 1

The Will to Power

June 9, 2006

by: Silver Nightingale

---

4000 years later

Somewhere in the vastness of space, the Woglinde soared on her maiden voyage. Despite her mere twenty percent completion, the 100-meter ship already boasted a unique bi-level design that enabled her to split into an upper and lower section. She was developed by the renowned company, Vector Industries, as the first battleship to specifically combat the enigmatic specters known as the Gnosis. The test prototype battleship was deployed in order to provide assistance in the Federation Marine Corp.'s investigation. Another reason also came along with the Woglinde's dispatch and that was to test out the company's newest weapon prototype.

In the ship's lower section, a small group of people were busy working on their computers in preparation for their upcoming operation.

**Booting up primary connection system--- Enter System Administrator ID and Connection Target. Connection Target: KOS-MOS. System Administrator: Shion Uzuki. System Ready. Operator should now take a seat in the VR-2000.**

The operator, Shion Uzuki, carried on the computer's written instruction and took a seat on a red machine. A virtual reality visor quickly responded by covering her eyes. The VR-2000 sent out data of her vital signs to one of the screens being monitored by her colleagues. The operator then prepared herself for the task at hand.

"Commencing startup experiment. Open up an Interconnection." Her voice spoke softly in the air.

"Roger. Opening Interconnection," a male assistant promptly answered. With the Interconnection opened, the data transfer would go more efficiently and would not be limited by the laws of physics. "Connecting with dummy protocol."

"A-LINE protocol zone secured," another confirmed.

One man gazed evenly at a monitor while his fingers nimbly typed in a command. "Opening cage partition. 60 seconds to release. Begin countdown. 57, 56, 55, 54, 53, 52, 51..."

Outside the safety of the Woglinde, a gleam of gold from a freely rotating item shimmered. A crew was immediately set out by the Corp. in order to retrieve it. The mentioned item was huge and its golden color brightly contrasted against the darkness of space. Two crew members, suited in special salvage mechs, positioned themselves at opposite sides of the monolith. One curious crew, who wore nothing but a spacesuit, aimed to study it further and allowed himself to touch the center of the item. With a flash of brilliance, the curious crew vanished before the others' very eyes.

"All monitors clear," the man who supervised the countdown verified. "...3, 2, 1. Partition open. Proceeding with KOS-MOS body formation."

"Body formation complete. Commencing Penfield mapping," another stated after a brief examination of the monitor that showed the connection target's basic frame as well as a complex linear cerebral cortex figure that noted its distinct functional regions.

A colleague then keyed in an appropriate command. "Proceeding with Encephalon construction..."

"Mapping percentage at 76, 77, 78..."

"Encephalon construction complete."

The assistant paused to study his monitor. "There's noise appearing in the temporal lobe," he informed.

"What's the problem?" Shion concernedly queried

"It's on the left side of the temporal lobe. I'm showing slight stimulation of the synapses in section 818. It's within permissible bounds, though..." The assistant craned his neck to his superior's direction, "Do you want to abort?"

"No," Shion curtly responded with a slight shake of her head, "let's keep going." Her form stiffened in determination. "Just stick to the menu. I'll try for a direct approach. Back me up."

"Roger," the assistant nodded. "Launching NATARAJA connection system."

Back in outer space, the remaining wary crew members took extra precaution as they resorted to the use of particular binding devices in order to secure the golden monolith. Carefully, they maneuvered both themselves and the item to re-enter the Woglinde. After all were cleared, the battleship along with its fleet gated-in to hyperspace.

**Connection system NATARAJA now loading... User name: Shion Uzuki. Password:** **Ye shall be as gods**

"Password accepted. Commencing NATARAJA boot up sequence." A robotic voice intoned.

Through the virtual reality visor, Shion's view of KOS-MOS' black maintenance bed melted away. Her body recoiled as she felt herself being drawn inside the Encephalon. There, her bright emerald eyes were met by static. "Allen, there seems to be a problem in the visual field connection."

"Hmm..." The assistant, Allen Ridgely, contemplated as he started to scan the program. "Ah... I see a small break in the MT field, route K12. It looks like... the bi-directional link in the V4 field is lagged, too. Hold on a minute... I'll fix it now." He then went on and tried a couple of slight alterations. "How is it now, Chief?"

"Okay, looks good." Shion acknowledged as the static dissipated. "Let's keep going."

"Roger," Allen replied. "Proceeding with KOS-MOS host separation."

The area before Shion flickered to life and with a flash of light, a female pale-skinned and blue-haired metallic entity appeared. Shion approached and halted at the entity's side. "Morning, KOS-MOS." She greeted with a smile. She studied KOS-MOS' covered face, "How do you feel?"

"Good morning, Shion. All systems are normal."

Shion nodded at the monotone answer, "Well, how about introducing yourself?"

"I am an Anti-Gnosis Humanoid Fighting System, serial number 00-00-00-00-1. Development name, KP-X. Abbreviated name KOS-MOS. As I am currently configured for simulated battle, my output is limited to 22 of its normal capacity. My estimated weapons specifications are..."

"All right, that's good enough. Thanks."

"You are welcome."

Shion surveyed the Encephalon before turning back to face the other. "All I have for you today are the usual startup tests." Her expression turned apologetic, "Sorry to wake you up just for that. You have to go back to sleep once everything's checked out."

"I see."

"Do you feel sad... or anything?" Shion managed after a slight fidget.

"A predetermined set of emotions has been hard-coded into my emotion module to better facilitate interactions with humans. In order to better facilitate a relationship with you--Chief Engineer Shion Uzuki of the KOS-MOS Project, Vector Industries First R&D Division--I will emit an expression such as sadness, only when that response is deemed necessary. However, the emotion module of my program has determined that this is not necessary at this time."

The engineer giggled, "I guess you're right. I of all people should know that."

"Your understanding is appreciated."

"But you know KOS-MOS... I've got... mixed feelings about all this." Shion said, her voice heavy with anxiety. "Of course, I'm happy that you're awake... But the fact that you'll go back to sleep makes me a bit... sad." She bowed, which made her brown hair shield her eyes. "On the other hand, the next time you wake up... it may be a time of much bloodshed. So deep down inside," she raised her head, "I hope that day never comes... Understand?"

"The algorithms I have been programmed with do not support the comprehension of illogical human thought," KOS-MOS replied with a nearly imperceptible delay.

"Well... I hope you'll be able to... understand someday." Shion uttered with a small push of her holographic glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"I will do my best."

"All right, KOS-MOS," the engineer went on to business, "shall we get started?" She then tipped her head to a side in address to her assistant, "Allen, let's pick up from process 277 where we last left off."

"Roger," Allen consented. "Placing target drones in the Encephalon. The drones are set to 'random movement' and 'enemy ambush'." He stopped to think, "How about a test run before the mission, Chief?"

"Hmm, sure, let's do that." Shion passively agreed before she turned her sight to the battle android beside her. "Did you get that, KOS-MOS?"

"Affirmative," she tersely replied just as their environment changed to white nothingness. A simulated soldier and a mechanical enemy then appeared a few feet away from them. The android focused her attention on the latter, "Target locked on. Commencing combat mode." She then transmitted her beam pistol and began to shoot at the armored machine.

Shion took that moment and allowed her weapon to materialize. The weapon was known as the Multiple Weapon System or the MWS. It resembled a classic robot arm and was striking red in color. It was mainly a fighting knuckle that doubled as a shield. Contained within it were various types of weapons, thus the name. The MWS was 'given' to Shion by Miyuki, a younger colleague of hers. The Chief Engineer held the handle at the underside of the knuckle tightly with her hand, aimed, and fired at the soldier.

The battle was won even before either of the enemies made a move. "All systems clear," KOS-MOS stated as the white surrounding warped back to its previous form.

"All processes to 300 cleared," one of the monitoring subordinates reported to the assistant.

"Chief, the data transfer is going smoothly. The A-LINE protocol's looking good." Allen relayed through a communicator.

"It sure is," Shion acknowledged. "The response levels are really good."

"If we maintain these levels," Allen contentedly spoke, "we'll have some great results soon."

"Yeah..."

"Chief?"

"Hey, Allen... Let's skip all 300 level processes and start from 400."

"Huh... 400? Chief, but that's..."

"I feel pretty confident this time."

"But Chief! Remember what happened last time..?" Allen permitted a quick pause, which he hoped would allow his superior to recall. "Had we waited ten more seconds to intervene, we wouldn't have been able to get you back at all. Can't we at least test it out in Objective Mode?"

"You know we can't get precise data that way! I'll be fine. If something happens, I'll get myself out. Besides, you want to test it out as well, don't you? We spent all night building the native A-LINE protocol."

Allen faltered, "Well, yeah but..."

"That settles it! Let's get started." Shion cheerfully ordered.

The assistant sighed in resignation, "All right then..." He allowed himself a few seconds of thought before his face lit up with renewed resolve. "But if anything happens, I'm going to shut it down from here, so don't press your luck!"

"All right, all right..."

"And don't deviate from the program..!"

"Okay... Mom," Shion chuckled.

With a frown on his face, Allen proceeded to massage his temple. "Jeez... This is so typical of her. Will she ever stop to think about the hell I go through for her?"

One of the female subordinates failed to stifle a giggle. "You know, sir, the way you worry about Chief Uzuki all the time, I'm surprised you haven't keeled over already."

"H...Hey! That's enough!" Allen exclaimed in a somewhat defensive manner. "Is the 400 level program ready to go?"

"We're ready to go anytime," one of the men confirmed.

"Then start up the program!" Allen strode back in position, "I want detailed reports from every monitoring station. Any abnormalities, and I'm shutting down completely."

Back in the Encephalon, Shion turned to face the android. "KOS-MOS, I'll explain a bit about this place. This place is an imaginary space constructed within the network. It's modeled off of some ruins from early 2000 A.D.," Shion stated as she walked a few steps forward. "Your mission is to fight the main target," she pointed ahead, "within the dilapidated building." She then returned her gaze on the android and continued as a hand was brought up to cradle her chin, "The target is marked with the red Vector box."

KOS-MOS nodded, "Yes, understood."

Shion lingered for a little while as she inspected the terrain, "All right then, let's start the mission!"

KOS-MOS went onward while the engineer followed close behind. Each step they took sent a series of echoes that added to the eeriness of the deserted place. Fire was all around them. It crackled rhythmically as it slowly devoured the aged ruins.

Despite her earlier enthusiasm, a shiver crept up Shion's spine. She hurried her pace unconsciously. Soon enough, she and KOS-MOS had arrived at their destination. Shion watched as the android approached the entrance.

A quick scan revealed that the door was locked and a keycard would be needed in order to open it. KOS-MOS turned her attention to an enclosed room that was located on the floor above them. Her sensors indicated that the keycard would be situated within that area. They also indicated that the most direct path towards the said room was also locked. After extracting the shortest route available to infiltrate it, she carried on. KOS-MOS' analysis took less than two seconds.

They arrived at their current destination in no time at all. Shion gave a pleasant smile as she eyed the room that housed the keycard just a few meters away from them. She proceeded to shadow KOS-MOS, satisfied that everything had gone well.

All of a sudden, the ground began to shake. A large machine, Drone SPX, then appeared out of nowhere and started to assault them. KOS-MOS sidestepped the attack with ease and transmitted one of her primary weaponry--the R Cannon.

Shion knew that she would not be able to deal any significant damage on their opponent if she fought it directly. "Transmit AGWS!" the Chief Engineer called upon the special Anti-Gnosis Weapon System. Sure, it was specifically built to combat the Gnosis but it was also effective when faced against enemy mechs.

"Charging." That was KOS-MOS' only warning before she unleashed a searing beam from the cannon that had been attached to her arm.

Their opponent nearly fell back due to the sheer impact of the battle android's attack. It retaliated and threw a hit at Shion's direction.

Inside the AGWS, Shion let out a cry as everything around her violently shook at the drone's blow. Angered, the engineer commanded her own mech to fire its gattling gun mercilessly at the drone.

Before their opponent could recover, KOS-MOS charged at it and delivered a massive punch that sent Drone SPX to crash at the wall behind it. A shower of sparks later and the drone was no more.

"Status check," Allen immediately demanded after the battle.

"I don't see anything unusual. All systems are stable. It's looking good." A man stated. "This ought to make up for last month," he added in afterthought.

"I sure hope so..." Allen trailed off.

Another began to report, "KOS-MOS has reached the checkpoint. Entering process 431."

"Replacing the targets with Type-G Drones," one more informed. "Commencing display."

"Chief," Allen spoke through the communicator, "I've changed the settings on the target drones. The next target is keyed to sound so it will only respond if you make a loud noise."

Shion nodded as she dismissed her AGWS and went back to KOS-MOS' side.

Together, they entered the room. Once inside, KOS-MOS marched straight towards the keycard and took it in her hands.

Shion worded her anticipation, "Now we can unlock the door!"

The pair wasted not even a moment as they swiftly returned to their primary objective. As KOS-MOS allowed the mechanism there to scan the keycard held delicately between her fingers, Shion peered between the rails that barricaded them from the red Vector box.

"Ah, here it is... This should be the room." Shion noted mostly to herself.

KOS-MOS proficiently strode into the room after the rails noisily lifted and took a moment to inspect the area.

Allen keyed in a command, "Here we go..."

Drone GX, a simulated gnosis, flashed to life in KOS-MOS' sight. The prototype android twitched, which went unnoticed to Shion, in possible malfunction.

"What's going on?" Allen demanded in bewilderment as an alarm rang out in the real world.

"A brand-new network is being created within the KOS-MOS mainframe," one of the monitoring men exclaimed in awe. "We've never had a reaction like this before. This is incredible... I've never seen a Net grow so fast!" He motioned to the computer screen, "Look at it, sir. Portions of the Encephalon map are evolving!"

The assistant chief's brows furrowed in confusion, "What the..."

"Allen," Shion interrupted, "I'm going to engage the target." Her green eyes shone with determination, "Make sure you capture all the data."

"What!" Allen felt his blood run cold, "You cannot engage right now! You're tapped into KOS-MOS' perception--it's too unstable!"

"Don't worry. We can pull it off."

"What do you mean, don't worry! Chief!"

The Gnosis Drone broke off any further argument as it bellowed loudly at the pair in front of it. The drone rushed at what it sensed was the weaker of the two and that was none other than Shion.

The Chief Engineer managed to evade the drone just in time and called upon her AGWS once more. At the corner of her eyes, she noticed KOS-MOS had already transmitted the most appropriate weapon to engage with the enemy--the R Blade.

With the gleaming razor now attached to her arm, KOS-MOS ran towards the enemy with no hesitation and hacked at a vulnerable part of the drone's body.

Drone GX swiftly countered with a strike on the android's torso, which sent the android back a step, and changed its tactics as it curled up in a defensive position.

KOS-MOS took no risk and, after a fast dismiss of the R Blade, sent for medical nanomachines to repair the portion of her that got hit. Aboard her AGWS, Shion advanced forward to shield KOS-MOS' form as the latter maintained herself in a glow of light.

A moment ticked by and Shion spotted that their enemy now stood in its usual stance, perhaps in belief that the two were at thought of retreating. With a quick motion of her fingers, she controlled her AGWS to slash openly at the drone twice.

Drone GX fell with an agonized shriek, overwhelmed by the attacks.

Shion exited her mech, "So far, so good..." She turned her attention to her assistant, "Shift target to Real Mode. We'll test the Hilbert Effect."

"What!" Allen was shocked. "Chief! You're supposed to follow the program..!"

Shion chose to ignore his protest and instead focused her gaze to the android, "KOS-MOS, activate Hilbert."

"Roger," KOS-MOS responded as she focused on the fallen drone. "Activating Hilbert Effect."

Shion took out her Connection Gear, an advanced version of a PDA, and opened up its holographic screen.

Drone GX reacted in a peculiar manner at the barrage of Hilbert Waves directed at it as the waves affected the intersection of both the imaginary and physical realm. Without warning, alarms went on both in reality and inside the Encephalon. The virtual field started to be engulfed in a haze of static.

"I knew this would happen!" Allen shouted in frustration, his tone laced with panic. "Status!"

One of the men frantically replied, "This is bad! Something's wrong in the Encephalon! The whole thing could collapse at any moment!"

"What! What about the Chief?" Allen turned to the communicator, "Chief! You're in danger! Get out of there now!" he demanded.

"Hold on!" Shion continued to study the holographic monitor before her. "Just a little longer!"

"Chief!" Allen persisted.

A subordinate broke off the two with his report, "Nerve impulses in the limbic system! We've got Kindling!"

"That's enough! Shut it down! Pull her out of there now!"

"Roger! Entering shutdown command," the frantic subordinate hurriedly attempted to do as he was told only to have warning messages greet his vision. His face contorted in disbelief, "It's been rejected! The Chief's overriding us. We can't control it from here!"

"Whaaat!"

Another one cried out, "Ten seconds to Encephalon collapse!" His eyes revealed that he was at a lost on what to do. He then gazed at the assistant as his voice cracked in worry, "Sir!"

"Dammit!" Allen swore as he hastily wore an Encephalon vision scope and prepared to dive inside the collapsing virtual world. His heartbeat raced as a rush of adrenaline surged within him. He would not be able to live with himself if any harm was to happen to their Chief Engineer.

Inside the Encephalon, the entire area was rapidly rippling to non-existence. Despite the obvious peril of still being inside, Shion stood her ground. She evenly observed the struggling drone as her holographic glasses reflected the blinding light that the simulated Gnosis emitted. That was when the most unexpected of things happened. As if born from the drone's glow, a young girl clad in white appeared. The little girl had the brightest amethyst eyes Shion had ever seen, however, those eyes held within them a great deal of melancholy that it could not possibly belong to someone so young. It was as if the child's eyes haunted and soothed her at the same time and the longer Shion looked in them, the more captivated she became. Then, all of a sudden, a rift appeared just beside Shion's form. Her assistant's worried shout, "Chief!" shattered the spell cast by those eyes and the next thing she knew, Allen had already dragged her out of the Encephalon.

---


	3. Chapter 2

The Will to Power

June 10, 2006

by: Silver Nightingale

---

Upon the length of his career in Vector Industries First R&D Division, Assistant Chief Engineer Allen Ridgely had never encountered close calls regarding Encephalon dive activities. Such accidents were highly uncommon and were only mainly caused by either mechanical malfunction, which was very rare, or human error, which could be quite easily avoided. Although, once he was assigned under the command of Shion Uzuki, he began to notice that the latter ground's probability sharply soared up. Today's fiasco proved just that.

"Chief!" Allen exclaimed as he dashed to Shion's side as soon as he regained his consciousness in the physical world. His vision scope had been carelessly discarded on his way to the VR-2000.

Shion looked around in a daze after the virtual reality visor was released from her eyes. She gave no response.

"Are you... all right?" Allen questioned, determined to get some sort of reaction from her.

Finally, Shion recovered. "Yeah... thanks." She then gave him a sheepish smile, "Did I push my luck a little too much this time?"

Allen collapsed to his knees, overwhelmed by the huge wave of relief that washed over him. He had feared the worst. He thought that Shion's prolonged stay inside the Encephalon had inflicted some sort of damage.

"Allen?"

"You can't... keep doing this, Chief." Allen panted. "I thought I was going to have a heart attack."

Shion crouched to his side, "Sorry about that... But I bet the data's really good." She tilted her head, "Besides..." The image of the little girl flashed through her mind as she trailed off.

"Was there something else?" Allen's concerned voice brought Shion out of her reverie.

"Hmm?" Shion blinked. "Oh... it's nothing." She took that moment to stand up, "Well, we better get started on that data. Today's our deadline, so I'm sure they'll be asking for it soon."

Allen opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted when a series of melodic notes chimed, which indicated an announcement was underway, within their workspace and, no doubt, throughout the ship.

**Attention, please. We are scheduled to gate out in approximately 3 minutes. All hands, please return to your designated areas immediately. Once again... Attention, please. We are scheduled to gate out...**

Up in the central part of the upper section of the Woglinde, the Federation Marine Corps. navigators were busily overseeing the gate jump.

"All ships, gate-out complete."

"Shifting main engine to stealth mode."

"Maintaining current speed until sector withdrawal."

"Exit from current space set at absolute time 1300 on the 22nd. Seven hours, 16 minutes and 30 seconds to withdrawal."

"Next UMN column in seven hours, 36 minutes."

"All gate jumps from other sectors will remain offline until then."

Forty-year-old Captain Moriyama relaxed on his seat in the bridge. "So, we're almost home..."

"Yes, Sir." Commander Andrew Cherenkov, second in command of the battle cruiser Woglinde, confirmed. He stood in a straight albeit slightly rigid posture just next to the Captain. His short sand-colored haired was immaculately combed and both his hands were positioned and clasped behind his back. One look at this man and people knew that he has been forged with undisputable discipline. Even the aura he possessed commanded higher authority than even the Captain himself. "Our final gate jump is at the next column. We're almost there."

A female navigator offered a cheery smile, "We made it this far; we'll be fine! The odds of contact between columns is statistically low... Besides, this asteroid field we're in is perfect for hiding the fleet from them."

"Hmp. So Pollyanna thinks those asteroids are going to protect us," Commander Cherenkov retorted.

"I...I'm sorry, Sir." Shamed, the navigator bowed her head and went back to work on her console.

"A bit testy today," Captain Moriyama noted, his tone gentle, "aren't we Commander?" He then turned to the man's direction, "Is something wrong?"

"No... Of course not..." Cherenkov refuted in a curt manner.

"Ever since we picked up that object ten days ago, everyone's been a bit jumpy. And we still have a ways to go before we hit comm-space..." The bridge's Lieutenant stated. "I can empathize with the Commander."

"Hm..." Cherenkov murmured to himself.

One of the Woglinde employees hesitantly spoke, "Uh... Captain... Can you... uh, debrief us on the current situation? Our original orders from the Galaxy Federation were to investigate the vanished planet and assist the researchers, but ever since we picked up the object, it feels like... everything's changed." His brows furrowed in confusion, "What exactly is that thing anyway?"

"Who knows? I haven't heard a thing from the research team," Moriyama truthfully answered. "But as I mentioned before, apparently they're after the object, too..." He paused, "That's unofficial info, of course."

"What about the rumor regarding the casualties during the retrieval process..?" The female navigator wondered out loud, unable to keep her curiosity.

"Even if it were true, that's none of our business." The captain replied good-naturedly. "The research team has their own orders to deal with. The only explicit instructions we've received state...that should any salvageable objects exist in the area, their retrieval takes top priority."

"Top priority? What does that mean?" An employee questioned.

"What it means is," Commander Cherenkov responded as one of his hands closed to a fist over his heart, "over our very lives."

Everyone, with the exception of the two head figures, looked amongst themselves in bewilderment.

"Now, now, no need to scare them." Captain Moriyama spoke in a calming voice. "Those orders merely reflect the importance of this operation to the Galaxy Federation government, that's all. Just stay sharp and be careful."

The Lieutenant beamed, "That makes sense, Sir. The entire fleet was renovated for this mission. Besides, if there's an emergency, we've got the trump card to fall back on."

"Aah, yes, speaking of which... What's the latest on that situation?"

"They're scheduled to turn in the A-7 reports today."

"A-7, eh... Only one step away from fully operational. It's about time, I suppose..." Moriyama leaned forward in his seat, "Lieutenant, please ask Chief Uzuki to come to the bridge once her data's ready. Ask her to bring all the previous data as well."

"Yes, Sir." With a nod, she exited the bridge and proceeded as instructed.

"What trump card?" One of the employees marveled as soon as the Lieutenant had left. He then swiveled his seat to face a nearby male navigator, "Was he referring to that battle android?"

"That's right," the navigator answered. "You didn't know?"

The employee's expression turned into that of incredulity, "Wow, so it's true..."

"Hey," the cheery lady navigator from before suddenly piped in, "I heard that project's really behind schedule."

"You can't blame 'em," her co-worker grimaced. "There were casualties during their last boot up test two years ago. They're being more careful this time."

"It's hard to believe that they're making an android in this day and age," the employee who initiated the conversation remarked. "Only place I've ever seen them is in old space novels."

The male navigator shrugged, "Well, trump card or not, it's still an experiment. And it ain't like one android's gonna make that much of a difference. The whole project's just a chance for those Vector guys to show off. Someone's outdated hobby, that's all."

"I hear that even their commercial models differ greatly between those that've seen action and those that haven't," the female navigator recalled.

"They say ignorance is bliss..." Commander Cherenkov's voice imposed as he squarely eyed them all, "looks like they were right."

The startled woman returned his gaze, "Commander!"

"I'm just envious, that's all." With that, Cherenkov had ended his subordinates' conversation.

Back in Vector Industries First R&D Division's makeshift laboratory, Chief Engineer Shion Uzuki was just finishing a conversation with the Woglinde's Lieutenant via the communication monitor.

"...Sure. I'll be there in 30 minutes." The holographic screen dissipated as Shion turned the machine off.

"They certainly didn't waste any time," Allen, who stood just behind her, noted.

Shion tapped her head with a smile, "See? I'm usually right about these things."

One of her subordinates approached and handed her a number of records, "Here's the data you requested. Will that be all?"

"Thanks," Shion nodded as she began to scan through it. "This should be good enough. I'll take care of the rest."

"Chief..." a researcher tentatively advanced towards her. "Do you have a second?"

"Yes?"

"The military is expecting actual field data for KOS-MOS. Is it right for us to keep giving them simulated data like this?"

Shion was taken aback, "Well... I must admit, you got me there." Her sight wandered off to KOS-MOS' maintenance bed, "But honestly, if it were up to me, I'd keep her here... safe in her dream world forever."

"But why are you so afraid to put her to real work, when you push her so hard in the simulations? I can't wait to see KOS-MOS up and completely functional." The researcher seemed sullen, "Couldn't you at least try taking her up to Phase 3? That should be no problem for her by now."

Allen intervened by giving a friendly hit on the researcher's posterior, "Phase 3 in a simulated battle config? Come on. We're not about to wake our little princess for that." He gave Shion another set of records once the researcher took his leave. "Here's a summary of KOS-MOS's main equipment from the Second Division. This should help you with the guys upstairs."

Shion gratefully received the files, "Thanks. I'm sure it will." She then made her way to the exit. "All right, see you later!" The engineer waved as the door parted for her.

"Okay, good luck!" Allen waved back as Shion's figure disappeared behind the closing door. His blue eyes looked wistful as he slowly brought his hand back to his side. After a short while of silence, he cleared his throat. "Well! Back to work!" Allen began to walk back to his station, not noticing the mischievous expressions and suppressed giggles that went on around him.

"She's really got you trained, hasn't she, sir." Togashi, one of Allen's more jovial younger colleagues, commented.

"What? Trained? What do you mean?" Allen sputtered. "Hey," he complained after seeing Togashi's smirk, "what are you smiling at!" He frowned, "Hurry up and get back to work!"

"I'm on it." Togashi complied. "See how he always changes the subject..." he whispered to a co-worker closest to him, Basil.

"What was that, Togashi!" Allen demanded as he stopped by behind the two.

"Nothing at all, sir. You're just hearing things!" Togashi promptly supplied.

Allen patted Togashi on the back a little harder than necessary and, with a stern expression, passed on. "I swear..." he muttered to himself. His steps were quickly halted as he came face-to-face with the group's researcher. "Hmm? What's up? Still not convinced?"

"Oh, no, it's not that. It's just..."

"I know what you feel, but you saw what happened just now. Even the Chief is cautious sometimes. Besides..." Allen trailed off as a sudden realization struck his mind. "Ohhh, that's right. You just transferred in a month ago, right? I guess you couldn't have known."

"You mean the accident from two years ago? I've heard about it, but I don't know any details."

"Oh, right..." Allen stopped short as his vision spotted the things scattered on Shion's work station chair. There laid a white bunny-shaped UMN phone, a vision scope, and something that should not have been there--KOS-MOS' data sheets. Allen's shoulders slumped, "Oh man, not again... Oh well."

"Perfect!" Togashi exclaimed. "Now the two of you can be alone. Why don't you ask her out while you're at it? We can handle the rest by ourselves."

"This is your big chance!" One of the girls couldn't resist to add.

Allen grumbled in aggravation, "I told you guys, it's not like that! For crying out loud..." He handed one of the unneeded data sheets to the researcher and made his way towards the exit. He paused, "A-anyway, I'd better get this to her."

"Good luck!"

"--Yeah!"

"Go Tiger!"

Allen nearly sighed in exasperation as the door hissed to closure after him. "...Geez, they just don't know when to quit... It's not like I don't want to... I just..." sadness crept in his tone, "cant..."

A fair distance away from the Assistant Chief Engineer, Shion's feet faltered as she heard loud odd noises in the block just ahead of her. Since there was no other way, she treaded on despite her better judgment.

Once inside the block marked as Hangar 1, Shion's sight was met by a huge golden monolith. It was positioned in the central region of the hangar and was being kept afloat by a number of blue rings that were being projected from revolving binding devices. Further down the hangar were stairs leading down a wider area where a big and strong-looking bald man, who wore a military uniform, stood. His face was painted with a bold purple X and was twisted in a permanent scowl. Situated before him were his men, all suited in orange uniforms matched with similarly-colored hats.

"You're slacking off!" He yelled ruthlessly to his men as he trained his cold gaze on one of them. "And you!" The high-ranking officer raised a muscled arm and punched that one in the gut. The 'slacker' moaned in pain and fell to his knees. No attention was spared to the pitiable man as the officer turned his glare to another poor soul, "And you!" The harsh sound of fist against unprotected flesh sliced through the air. "You're all a bunch of slackers!" The officer's voice, along with another series of punches and grunts, reverberated throughout the hangar. "Listen up!" the burly man snapped. "You lazy bums were the cause of that accident! You're not getting any time to confess your sins, though! Why not? 'Cause I'm not giving it to you! If you got time to be sorry, you got time to get your ass in gear! If you got time to think, you got time to get your fingers moving! Don't even start thinkin' you got a brain to think with! You're gonna become machines, and work like 'em, day and night!" He strode close to another one of his men and proceeded to knock that individual senseless, "You're all a bunch of slackers!"

Shion winced as she witnessed the amount of abuse the officer was inflicting, "Boy, I guess not every department's run is like ours." Her emerald eyes gleamed with nostalgia as a fond memory resurfaced.

It was raining then, creating a faint yet soothing rhythm that eased both her body and mind. Briefly, she tore her gaze from the holographic monitor in front of her as she allowed her sight to view the night sky. A tiny smile lit her face at the serene scene. Suddenly, a mechanical hiss broke through the silence and Shion, awoken from her thoughts, returned once more to her work.

"You're still here, huh?" the voice of her immediate superior, Kevin Winnicot, warmly noted. "Killing yourself over work won't get you very far."

"Oh... How are you?" Shion acknowledged. "I had to get this data done before morning, so I..." Her explanation trailed off as she turned to face the Chief Engineer. "Well, what are you doing here so late, Kevin? You'd better get some sleep. We've got an early morning ahead..."

"--Here," Kevin interrupted as he offered a cup of steaming coffee to her. "This is for you."

"Huh?" Shion was caught off guard. "Oh... thank you!" She accepted the cup and took a small sip of the bittersweet beverage.

"To tell you the truth, I haven't been able to sleep lately." Kevin conversed with a faraway look in his eyes. "Something's been on my mind."

"On your mind?" Shion gently pressed. She placed the cup down as Kevin motioned for her to come with him towards KOS-MOS' maintenance bed. Once they arrived, Shion sat back on the machine's surface and waited for her superior to continue.

"Tomorrow, she's finally going to wake up. I'm looking forward to seeing her come to life, but... I have no idea what to say to her when she wakes up. It's been bothering me..." Kevin gently shook his head, a few stray strands of his midnight locks fell from behind his ears. "I'm just being weird, huh?"

"Why don't you just say... 'Good morning, KOS-MOS'"?

"G...good morning?"

"Well, that's what you say to someone when they wake up, right?" Shion beamed up to him.

"Yeah... Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks. I think I can finally get some sleep now."

"Glad to help, sir." Shion said in a teasing manner as she stood and gave a little bow.

"You should get some rest, too."

"All right."

"Well, good night."

"Good night..."

The memory receded yet Shion's eyes were still distant. "Yeah...Everybody's so eager to see her..." She turned her sight to the golden monolith and stared ahead in contemplation.

Out of the blue, a shrill tone chimed. Shion felt cold as her body was cocooned in a sensation that she could not quite place. Her whole world was then submerged into a dreary shade of black and white. A wave of uncertainty washed over her and, oddly enough, that was when she noticed that she was not where she previously had been. When at one second she was light-years away from natural solid ground, she was now standing in a grassy field of earth. Before her was the colossal monolith that she was staring at beforehand.

The shrill tone chimed once again and Shion's mind was pierced by a vision of a golden square cross with a dark purple gem at its center. It then vanished as quickly as it came and Shion found herself in the grassy field once again. Her eyes widened as she saw the girl that she had encountered in the Encephalon.

The girl began to speak but no sound escaped her lips. She turned to her back, advanced towards the monolith, and walked right through it.

After a moment of shock, Shion followed the girl's example and walked up to the huge item. She extended her hand and grazed her fingers on it. In response, it rippled. Gradually, everything turned back to normal.

"Look out!"

At the sound of the alarmed shout, Shion blinked back her daze. She managed to avoid being hit by one of the revolving binding devices as a blast of wind made her step back. As a consequence, however, she lost her balance and fell to the floor.

"Watch it, you slacker!" The officer marched up to her and gave her a fierce look. "Only authorized personnel are allowed up here! I've had three people vanish on me already! Get the hell out of here! My men'll start slacking off if they see bimbos like you around!"

"I'm so sorry!" Shion hastily picked herself up and all but ran out of the hangar in embarrassment.

"Who's the idiot that let civilians on this ship!" The officer then spotted one of his men stare at the woman's retreating form. "What the hell are you staring at!" He punched the guy in the face and watched in disdain as he fell. Discontented, the officer picked up him up the ground and threw him an uppercut, which promptly caused him to fall back down. "Damn slacker!"


	4. Chapter 3

The Will to Power

June 14, 2006

by: Silver Nightingale

---

The thing that happened a moment ago, was it an illusion? No, it can't be, can it? It felt so real but how could that possibly be? There has to be a logical explanation for all this, right? Perhaps she was merely thinking too hard about it. Then again, was she really? It wasn't as if such a thing normally just happened to everyone, right? Right? So if that were the case then she had the liberty to be perplexed, correct? But why was it that she felt that she was not supposed to be confused by it, that what she experienced was simply natural for her, and that there was a meaning behind it that only she could hope to grasp?

"...Chief!"

Shion's brain swam in turmoil and she could do nothing more than to stare blankly at her hand. She recalled the way she touched the mysterious monolith. It felt exactly like grasping air but why was it that there was this odd feeling that enveloped the tip of her fingers?

"Chief?"

The engineer went on, her pace steady. She understood none of this. Maybe it would be best if she shoved that moment at the back of her mind for now.

"Chief!"

Emerald eyes widened as Shion turned to see--"Allen..!"

The male assistant stopped his slow jog once he caught up with her. "What do you mean, 'Allen!' Don't act so surprised. Didn't you forget something important?" He then showed her KOS-MOS' data sheets. "You know, it's dangerous wandering around in a daze like that."

"Yeah... sorry," Shion said as she resumed her walk. "I was just thinking about something..."

Allen trailed after her. "Are you all right?" He worriedly asked after he saw her stiffen and peek behind her shoulder.

"Huh? Yeah... Oh I'm just not myself today." Shion's tone was mildly upset.

Oblivious to the fact that a pair of amethyst eyes was silently watching them, the two continued on.

"Allen..." Shion broke the short moment of silence that lingered between them as a thought entered her mind. "Thanks for stepping in back there."

"Ah, no, I should've spoken to the new guy earlier. So you don't need to thank me." After a moment of hesitation, Allen then decided to push his luck and shared a few more of his thoughts. "But it would really help if you would try to understand their feelings more. I know everyone's still a little uneasy about KOS-MOS, but they've been pouring their hearts and souls into this project. They all want to see with their own eyes the end result of what they've been working so hard to complete. I feel the same way myself, you know?"

"I know that," Shion lowered her head as she halted her steps. "It's just that I..."

Allen's voice lowered to a whisper, "Chief... That incident, right..?"

"Huh? Oh... I see... you're..."

"Hmm?"

"Sorry. That's... not... quite... it." Shion then raised both of her hands in dismissal. "Forget about it. It's nothing. Let's just hurry up and get KOS-MOS completed, okay?" The engineer then felt something vibrate within her coat pocket, signaling that she had just received mail. "Oh..." she exclaimed as she brought it up and opened the holographic monitor, "who could that be?"

Allen read the message together with Shion. "More Realian maintenance? They really should stop calling you all the time. Technically, it's a violation of regulations for you to deal with other divisions." He frowned, "Besides, aren't they expecting you on the bridge?"

"Oh, don't worry about it. I don't want to brush them off." Shion offered a smile to her assistant. "Besides, it's on the way, and I've got some time. See ya!" She sprinted off.

"Oh..? ...Duh!" Allen smacked his forehead. "I forgot to ask her out after work." His form slumped forward as he dejectedly trekked back to the lab.

After a quick visit to her quarters to retrieve the needed service data, Shion headed on to the Realian Maintenance Laboratory. "Hello!" She called out with a ready grin spread on her face. "You rang?"

"My apologies, Ms. Uzuki!" A middle-aged man, Lieutenant Caspase, promptly responded. "It seems we're constantly in need of your help."

"No problem, Lieutenant. I want everyone to be healthy and happy too, after all." Shion positioned herself near the man. "So... what's the problem today?"

"Well..." Caspase scratched his chin. "I'm trying to teach them some new battle algorithms to better reflect the unit's reorg, but the integration is not going smoothly." He motioned to his computer terminal.

Shion inspected the monitor, "You're right. He's rejecting the data." She scanned the room. "Let's see, I just need to check the Realians lying on the maintenance beds, right?"

Caspase nodded, "Yes, thank you for your help."

With practiced patience, Shion began the arduous task before her. She explained the nature and reason of the data that was to be administered to the Realians. Her words were precise yet carefully chosen to provide the best enlightenment to the newly produced artificial humans. After a fair amount of time, the Realians' anxiety gradually dissolved and finally, they accepted the data upload.

"Well, I've made some adjustments, but please contact Third Division once we return." Shion stated. "I recommend they receive more intensive counseling soon."

"I'll be sure to do so," Caspase replied in appreciation. "You know, I'm really impressed... Providing Realian psych support on top of developing KOS-MOS. I hear even specialized counselors have a hard time..."

"Oh, I'm just making the most of what my mentor taught me. I'm glad I could be of help. Besides, I always wanted to work in the Third Division..." She thought for a few seconds, "Actually, I'm thinking about requesting a transfer once my current work's finished."

Caspase was stunned, "But Vector's First R&D Division has the best researchers in the organization! Everyone knows not just anyone can get in there. Are you sure that you want to transfer?"

Shion nearly laughed, "Oh, yes. Besides, my family's always asking, 'How did you get assigned to the First Division? There must've been a mistake in the paperwork...' Who knows, maybe they're right." She stepped closer to one of the maintenance beds and studied a Realian. "Besides... I want to learn so much more about them."

"What's learning about them going to do for you?" Someone nastily retorted.

"Lieutenant Virgil!" Caspase's face contorted in anger as he glared daggers at the blonde newcomer.

Virgil paid no attention to the man and advanced to the Realian Shion was studying. He leaned close to the Realian's chest and inhaled deeply, "Their stench..."

Shion recoiled, "What?"

"It reeks," Virgil sneered. "I can't get their rotten odor out of my system. Can't you smell it?" He raised his head and made contact with Shion's eyes. "It makes me sick to my stomach."

"Huh? What are you..." Shion's sentence faltered as a gasp escaped her lips at the sight of a peculiar scar that trailed down on the right side of Virgil's face.

"That's enough!" Caspase abruptly snapped. "You got your orders from the Lieutenant Commander, didn't you? One of the goals of this operation is to enhance combat support between the AGWS and the new-model Realians! And yet you're..." Both of his hands tightened into fists that were, by now, shaking in suppressed rage.

"Support? Ha!" Virgil spat venomously. "In a battle against them, the last thing I want to worry about is supporting a bunch of untested Weapons-Grade Realians!"

"Umm... Excuse me," Shion could not help but intervene, "but these people are highly qualified soldiers."

"These people!" Virgil incredulously remarked. "You're treating equipment like people?"

"You really shouldn't say things like that," Shion responded, obviously riled. "These people have the same intellect and emotions as us. And the Miltia Charter clearly spelled out the basic human rights of Realians when it was ratified in 4763."

"What a load of crap... Get off your soapbox!" Virgil all but rolled his eyes. "You act noble and preach about humanity, but in the end, they're just equipment as far as your company's concerned." He brought a hand up, which caused light from above to reflect on his bangle. "Or maybe... more like merchandise..."

"We don't treat them anything like equipment or merchandise!" Shion heatedly countered.

"Then why do you categorize them as Weapons-Grade Realians? How much more evidence do you need than that?" Virgil coolly retaliated. "Whatever you care to call them, they're nothing but tools of warfare. Besides, I know your little secret." He neared Shion with a malicious smirk, "You guys have an emergency override code to control them. Don't you?"

Shion gasped in disbelief. How could he possibly know such classified information? She didn't even feel Virgil's hand on her shoulder as it offered mock comfort.

Caspase clenched his teeth, "Virgil! Why are you..?"

A Realian then approached the scene, which made Virgil pull back. "Wh-what do you want?" The Lieutenant questioned with narrowed eyes as he swiftly hid his unease.

"It is as you say, Sir." The Realian expressed in an impartial tone. "We are manufactured as merchandise, and raised accordingly. However, I take pride in what I do now. And this pride was not forced upon me. It is of my own free will."

Virgil felt his legs weaken in revulsion and was forced to drop to a kneel. His hands flew to his mouth as nausea threatened to overcome his senses. "...Free will, huh..." The man scoffed as soon as he recovered. "Well, good for you. You'd better just enjoy it while you can. The time'll come soon enough when you'll realize what's going on. Just you wait..." His words ominously hang as he stood to his feet and exited the lab.

"Is he... a DME addict?" Shion murmured to herself in distaste as she watched Virgil's retreating form.

"My apologies, Ms. Uzuki." Caspase spoke in frustration. "He wasn't always like that, but then... something... happened." His eyes turned downcast.

"Is he," Shion turned back to the head of Realian maintenance, "an old acquaintance?"

"We were classmates at the military academy. And I've been stuck with him since then." Caspase sullenly related. Hesitation flickered through his eyes before he continued, "...It was Miltia."

Sudden understanding dawned Shion, "I see... So... that's why."

"You know about that, huh? Then again, anyone planning to join the Third Division would know."

"Well, I... I'm from Miltia."

"Huh?"

"Of course, no one's allowed to go there anymore... My family moved to Second Miltia when they transferred the capital after the war... And my brother still lives there alone..." Shion elaborated despite the ache that stirred within her heart.

"Oh, I see..." Caspase guiltily mumbled. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring back painful memories."

"Oh, it's all right." Shion smiled. "After all, it's something we must never forget about. For our sake, and theirs as well," she ended with a sidelong glance to a nearby Realian.

Suddenly, her Connection Gear vibrated which made Shion's eyes widen in panic, "Oh no! I forgot I had to report to the bridge!" She shifted her frantic gaze from Caspase to the door. "Sorry, I'll come back to check on them later! Bye!" With that, she hastily rushed on out of the maintenance lab, leaving a rather befuddled Lieutenant behind.

Shion hoped that Caspase didn't mind her abrupt depart in spite of the rather serious topic they discussed. Although, she guessed the interruption had been for the best. Miltia was one of the topics she rarely desired to talk about. It simply brought back a number of memories that, if given the choice, she would rather leave untouched.

With a deep breath, Shion allowed her mind to clear. She then recklessly sprinted through the length of the corridor. She turned sharply around a corner and nearly bumped into a pair of people who were engrossed in idle conversation. Her face flushed as she raced on regardless of their protests, unable to even offer an apology due to her rapid pace.

"Hi, Shion!" a familiar voice greeted her. "You're looking cute as usual."

The engineer stopped in her tracks as she almost collided against one of the many metallic obstacles scattered throughout the floor. She originally intended to pretend that she never heard the call but the situation made her do otherwise. How was she able to reach the bridge now? With a tired sigh, she spun to see the person who grabbed her attention. Her expression brightened as she faced one of the Woglinde's utility men, "Hello, Mr. Holgar!" Perhaps he would be able to help.

"Hey now, quit with the formalities." the man playfully reprimanded. "Call me 'Mr. Driller'!" Holgar pointed to himself with an overly proud look in his face.

"D-Driller... did you say?" Shion warily confirmed.

During the first time she met the man, she already knew that he was one of the odder people on board the ship. Still, she found that even with his nutty exterior, he was friendly and very dedicated to his job.

"I'm really skilled at using the drill crane. So much so, I wish the Drill Council would acknowledge it!" Holgar ranted, not noticing Shion's growing impatience. "Of course, Susumu Hori and I are equals when it comes to drilling. Don't ever confuse me for a run-of-the-mill drill worker!"

"Umm..." Shion began. "Mr. Holgar?"

"..."

Shion knitted her brows, "Mr. Hol..." She blinked. Oh, right... "I mean, Mr. Driller?"

"What is it Shion?" Holgar broadly grinned.

The engineer let out a nervous giggle, "I have to get going."

"Bah, that doesn't matter at all right now. A clumsy worker caused an accident, and they can't work because the wreckage is in the way. That's where my drill crane and I come in. But even with an awesome driller like me, this is one heckuva job for just one guy! It's tough! Real tough for just one guy!" Holgar exaggeratedly exclaimed before excitedly gazing at his female companion. "That's where you, my cute little Shion, come into the picture! You've answered my drill call! Am I right? I'm right, aren't I? You'll do it, won't you! You'll help my noble cause, won't you!"

Shion gave an awkward laugh. What did she have to lose? "Um, Mr. Hol... Mr. Driller? I'll give it a try, but I may not be able to appreciate drilling like you do."

"Yeah? You'll take over my drill then!" Holgar raved enthusiastically. "Okay. First I'll teach you how to operate the drill crane. Listen closely, operating a drill is not about reflexes or clever techniques. It's all about heart and the soul within. Passion for your drill will allow you to operate the drill as you wish!"

Boy, he's really gone off the deep end... Shion could not help but shake her head in slight pity as Holgar proceeded to instruct her on the basics of the drill crane, all the while gesturing animatedly.

"Well, what do you think? Simple, right?"

"Hmm... I think I get it... sort of..."

Holgar relinquished the controls to her and signaled for her to go on and try her luck. With a grateful nod, Shion set the crane in motion and drilled through the troubling obstacles. It wasn't as complicated as it first seemed. And in no time at all, the area was cleared.

"Phew... Looks like I finally got it done." Shion surveyed the empty path with delight.

"Not too shabby! I knew you had a passion for drillin', Shion." Holgar clapped. "Never giving up, even when you miss. That's the most important quality in a driller."

Shion felt herself redden despite herself, "Uh, umm... well, thanks." She smiled at the man as she went on towards the door at the far end of the hallway. With a small wave, which Holgar earnestly returned, Shion vanished behind the closing door.

As she entered the elevator leading up the bridge, Shion's heart pounded inside her chest. She certainly hoped that her tardiness would not offend the Captain. A small while later, she had reached the top. Shion swallowed her nervousness and diligently walked up to the man, "Please excuse me for being late."

Moriyama welcomed her with a pleasant look on his face, "Don't worry about it. Now that you're here, can you please show us KOS-MOS' data?"

"Yes, Sir. Right away." Shion dutifully complied as she handed the various data to Moriyama. She then inserted one of the data sheets in the main terminal and a projected image of KOS-MOS' main structure and statistics appeared on the monitor.

Commander Cherenkov studied the presentation thoroughly with a neutral expression, "I see. I understand the basic specs." He continued to roam his sight, "So, where's the actual field data?"

Shion's heart nearly skipped a beat. She knew that they were going to demand to see that precise data and she had already readied herself to be interrogated but still, she could not help but feel unnerved. She pushed her glasses up her nose, "Well, it's not quite ready... All I can provide today is up to A-7."

"So you don't have it?" Cherenkov inquired in a flat tone that made the question seem more like a statement.

"Well..." Shion inwardly frowned. "We'll begin testing with a mock-up unit very soon, but the system is still a little unstable, and..."

"Aren't you just making excuses?" Cherenkov retorted. "Listen, Chief Uzuki. Why do you think you're on this ship? Think about that for a moment." The Commander paced away from the terminal, his steps cool and precise. "The fleet may be newly outfitted, but it was assembled under major time constraints. And we have AGWS units, but the 100-Series Observational Units that go with them aren't available until later. What would happen, if by some chance, we were attacked by those things? I don't think I need to describe the outcome to you." He paused, wanting the engineer to soak the information he had just stated. "The purpose of KOS-MOS' deployment was to address this issue. Or am I mistaken?"

"N-No, Sir..." Shion timidly verified as she silently braced herself for the upcoming storm now that the calm had passed.

"Listen," Cherenkov turned to the Chief Engineer, "you're not in a laboratory anymore." His tone rose, "You're on a warship. This is a battlefield! KOS-MOS was supposed to be our frontline defense here, and now you're telling us it hasn't even woken up yet!" Cherenkov, by now, was already all but shouting in frustration. "There's no point in having a weapon that can't even get out of bed! That thing's only meaningful to us when it's fully operational! Why can't you..."

"Let it go, Commander." Moriyama smoothly intervened. "These people are working under serious time constraints, just like our own squadron." He glanced at the forlorn engineer, "Besides, they're only one step away from actual field testing. In the end, we all want to see this operation completed without having to resort to that thing, don't we?"

"Of course, Captain, but I believe..." Cherenkov's argue was halted as his UMN phone beeped. "...Arg!" Irritation was evident on his face. "Who's calling me..." The look wavered to distress as he read the message.

Moriyama creased his eyebrows in worry, "Is there a problem?"

"Oh, uh, no." Cherenkov tensely replied. He pocketed the phone, "Something urgent's come up... If you will excuse me." The Commander swiftly retreated out the bridge.

Moriyama stared after Cherenkov, not understanding the man's sudden shift of mood. "I wonder what's wrong."

"I don't know..." Shion dazedly responded.

"Well, never mind." The Captain leveled his eyes on Shion. "That's enough for today, Chief Uzuki. Let me know if any new development arise."

"I'm sorry we failed to meet your expectation," Shion timidly stated.

"Oh, there's no need to apologize. What's important to us is how reliable the system is once we've start using it. Rushing the project won't get us anywhere. So just calm down and take as much time as you need. The government's funding it all, anyway, right?" Moriyama offered a kind smile before he continued, "You must be tired. Take the rest of the day off.

With a deep bow of gratitude, the engineer accepted the Captain's dismissal, gathered KOS-MOS' data, and left the bridge.

**Chief Uzuki of Vector First R&D Division, you have a package from Vector HQ. Please claim your package at the AGWS hangar as soon as possible.**

Shion was startled by the ship's announcement that blared though the air as soon as she reached the lower corridor. She considered disregarding the message but an odd tickle of sensation told her otherwise. With a shrug, she proceeded to the mentioned hangar as instructed.

"You're from Vector, right? There's a package for you. It's addressed to Miss Uzuki." The employee in charge stated to Shion once she entered the expansive hangar. "It looks dangerous, so be careful when handling it." He notified after he confirmed the identity of the brunette woman.

Shion scrutinized the parcel and discovered that it contained none other than the MWS, the weapon she had utilized during her previous Encephalon dive. She gave it a thoughtful look, "I guess Miyuki still intends to use me as her guinea pig." Not that she minded the notion much. Who knows? Perhaps, it may prove useful later on. After she offered her thanks to the employee, Shion then continued on and journeyed towards her room, all the while not having the faintest clue just how accurate her thoughts had been.

---

AN: This is to notify that during the entirety of this novelization, a couple of lines shall be added, omitted, and/or edited. The game's plot shall not be distorted due to the alteration of the lines. That is all.


	5. Chapter 4

The Will to Power

June 20, 2006

by: Silver Nightingale

---

"...That was a grave mistake, Cherenkov. I believe I already warned you about the dangers of the Zohar. You should have been more careful while retrieving it." A menacing voice intoned amidst the flickering darkness of the Woglinde's Communication Room.

"Yes, Sir." Cherenkov lowered his head submissively as a pair of mauve eyes pierced through his own. "I'm afraid there's no excuse for the fatalities that occurred during the recovery. However, we can..."

"That's a trivial matter. Forget it." The man strongly dismissed. "The problem... is that those people touched the Zohar, and then vanished... And... in addition to that, you're still transporting it while exposed to normal space. Because of that, we've had to move the plan up two phases. We can't have the Zohar falling into the government's hands."

"Two phases..!" Commander Cherenkov uttered in bewilderment. "But why are you..."

"We've picked up local UMN activity on our EPR radar. The fleet is column jumping towards the position of your convoy. They'll cross your vector in five hours, 22 minutes."

"No... it can't be!" Cherenkov straightened in alarm. "Them!"

"I told you, you've made a grave mistake." The man's exterior was stoic despite the subtle note of aggravation that crept in his tone. "We dispatched reinforcement an hour ago. So keep it safe at all costs, until they arrive."

Cherenkov fidgeted at the unwavering stare, "W-will they make it in time?"

"Just keep it safe until they arrive. I don't care if you have to send it in hyperspace by itself. Fortunately for you, your ship is carrying that weapon. I don't know what Vector's up to, but take advantage of the situation if you can..."

"E-excuse me, Sir," Cherenkov responded, panic etched all over his face, "but they haven't even started field testing it yet!" He shook his head in fear. "It's too risky!"

"You of all people should be cognizant of its power. I don't care if it's unstable. Make them hurry."

"But, but Sir..." Cherenkov's heart raced wildly in muted shock. That weapon was not a thing to be merely toyed with.

"That is all," the man stated with an air of finality before turning away.

"Commander, wait!" The connection between them was severed and the holographic monitor melted away. Cherenkov felt cold sweat trickle from his forehead as dread settled within him. "Commander Margulis!" He helplessly called out in despair.

At the other end of the ship, Chief Engineer Shion Uzuki was having a significantly lighter argument in the safety of her room. "Like I told you before," she narrated at the image projected in the communication monitor, "I can't go anywhere until my project stabilizes. Don't you remember?" She could not believe she was having this conversation yet again.

"You know how long you've been saying that? I haven't seen you for two years now. You could at least come home for our parents' memorial. Where's your sense of filial duty?"

"Memorial?" Shion incredulously remarked after she placed her Communication Gear on a low desk beside her bed. A hanger was held between her fingers while she warily gazed at her older brother, Jin Uzuki. "Ahh... Come on! Why are you trying to resurrect obscure ancient rituals?" Her eyes widened with sudden insight, "Wait a minute, you've been reading those weird old books again, haven't you? I swear, you're so obsessed with those precious books of yours!"

"That is none of your business, thank you very much." Jin casually retorted. "How many times must I tell you not to quibble about my way of life."

"What do you mean, way of life? All that's stuff's just a stupid old hobby for you." Shion paused in consideration. "Just remember, don't expect me to take you in when you're old, senile, and all alone." She added in a playful manner, although inwardly meaning each word she said. She then stripped off her jacket and proceeded to hang it neatly aside.

"That's terribly rude of you, Shion." Jin replied, slightly upset. "Don't worry about me, just promise me you'll come home this year, okay? If you don't..."

"All right, all right, when I get some time off." Shion faked agreement to satisfy her brother's endless nagging. "Look, gotta run--see yah!"

"Hey, wait!" Jin hurriedly exclaimed, knowing that his sister was about to disconnect. "I'm not going to let you dodge the question again..." He trailed off as the transmission turned static. "Hello? Hellooo..."

Shion shut the monitor with a frown. "Honestly..." she murmured beneath her breath after taking a seat on her bed's edge, "I wish he'd consider my feelings for a change..."

The engineer heavily sighed once the day's events caught up to her one by one. "I'm a little tired," Shion reluctantly admitted to herself. "I feel bad about doing this, but I think I'll rest a bit..." Without giving her mind another moment to reconsider the thought, Shion prepared for bed. Carefully, she took off her necklace and tenderly fixed her sight on its dangling crystalline pendant. "Good night..." She softly spoke before placing the item on her desk. As soon as her body relaxed against the mattress' comfort, Shion drifted to a peaceful slumber.

The serenity, however, was short-lived as Shion's consciousness spiraled to a familiar scenery of black and white. In front of her, amidst the misty grassland, was the girl of amethyst eyes who has calmly extended a hand, motioning her to look back. Shion complied and her vision was promptly graced by a tranquilly approaching male silhouette. A sudden rush of unfathomable emotion embraced her as her awareness dwindled to a sea of chaos.

Shion twisted in her sleep, oblivious to the ethereal golden glow that now bathed her room. There, standing alongside her bed, was the enigmatic little girl who watched over her troubled form. Amethyst eyes shifted and met the vast view of space.

They were close. She could sense them...

Time passed by imperceptibly among the vessel occupants. Before long, night deepened and the Woglinde's busy corridors had been abandoned in favor of rest. Deafening silence stretched mercilessly along the path Allen Ridgely walked through. With a warm cup of coffee grasped in his hand, he made his way towards their laboratory. Upon his arrival, the mechanical door opened with its trademark hiss.

"What the..?" Allen sputtered in surprise. "You're all still here?"

Basil waved from his position at the back of a furiously typing colleague, "Hey, how's it going? We're trying to pinpoint today's problem, among other things. What about you?"

The Assistant Chief Engineer's face fell at the inquiry, "Oh, Commander Cherenkov gave me a piece of his mind earlier."

"Ouch," Togashi commented without tearing his eyes from his monitor. "Glad to see you survived. That guy's relentless..." He spun his chair in Allen's direction, cleared his throat, and continued with a deeper and rougher tone. "'You act like a bunch of college kids!' and 'What, is Vector run by a Girl Scout?'"

Allen winced at the memory, "He just went on and on."

"Man," Basil frowned, "that's just not right."

"Seriously..." Allen simply had to agree. He sat opposite of his terminal and set his cup near the keyboard. "But it isn't right to have the Chief taking all the heat..." Allen activated his console, "Still... I wonder why he seemed so nervous..." Behind him, a dull radiance of blue light emanating from within KOS-MOS' maintenance bed was left unseen.

Above, at the heart of the battleship, the navigators vigilantly monitored the journey's progress.

"Now exiting the asteroid field," the lady navigator dutifully informed.

Captain Moriyama nodded appreciatively, "That's excellent! Prepare to gate-jump."

"Aye-aye, Captain. All ships entering approach."

"19 minutes, 30 seconds to column area."

"UMN pulse received."

"Current coordinates locked. Transfer vector correction to 103. Target: Athens Column."

Surprisingly, the sound of alarms cut through the otherwise perfect air in the bridge.

A male navigator furrowed in confusion, "Captain! A warning signal!"

"It can't be... Is it them?" Moriyama worriedly questioned.

"No, Sir. The detection system is silent." The male turned to a fellow-navigator. "How's it look on your side?"

"Nothing over here, either. You sure it's not an error?"

"No, no it's not." He returned his seat to normal and examined his screen. "What... is this..?" He whispered to himself.

"Then what's causing it?" Moriyama failed to mask his growing unease and stepped forward.

"I'll run a search," the navigator announced as he hastily scanned each zone of the Woglinde. "...I've pinpointed the anomaly. It's inside the ship, Sector Three..!" Both he and the Captain were taken aback by the bizarre revelation.

The alarms intensified as red monitors blinked to life one after another throughout the bridge. They all bore an identical message--Main System Approached. The Woglinde's system was being breached by an entity within them. Who could have the ability to do such a thing? And more importantly, why?

The navigator paled once he returned his eyes on his screen, "It's... KOS-MOS!" The first question had been answered.

Warning lights flashed as similar alarms blared through the First R&D Division's Laboratory. Thick clouds of gas exuded from the prototype battle android's maintenance bed while a caution mechanism atop it steadily radiated. Astonished by the sudden change of state, everyone hurriedly went to their corresponding stations and attempted to contain the situation.

"That's impossible!" Allen shouted through the noise. He glanced around him before advancing towards the bed. "Hey! What the hell's going on!"

"I don't know! It all happened so quickly. We're checking it out right now!" Basil responded amongst the panic.

Raw terror washed over Togashi as he madly tried to stabilize the crisis to no avail. "KOS-MOS warning status, level 1! The bindings are off!" His clenched fist pounded against the keyboard, "Damn it! It's booting up on its own!"

"The countdown has started as well!" Another subordinate tensely reported.

"What the hell..! Why all of a sudden..!" Powerless, Allen could do nothing but stare as the unnatural chain of events inevitably unfurled.

Shion was startled awake by the blinding illumination that engulfed her room. Puzzled by the disquieting atmosphere that surrounded her, the Chief Engineer feverishly reached out for her Communication Gear. "Countdown! How can that be!" Pierced by a dose of lucidity, Shion kneeled by the communication monitor and tried to contact her assistant.

**Currently, we are at Emergency Level 3. This circuit is reserved for Class A and B users only. Class C users, please try your call again later.**

"...Oh, come on! Why now of all times!" Shion cried out in frustration. Her mind raced. Did someone activate KOS-MOS..? Wait, that's impossible. KOS-MOS wasn't supposed to wake up until she entered the activation code from her Communication Gear... That's the fail-safe they integrated... Shion's blood ran cold as reality violently struck her in the face. This... This can't be happening... not again..!"

She took a fleeting moment to pacify her rising emotions before exiting her room in full uniform. She turned to her left to access one of the sub-corridors leading to their laboratory but her effort was in vain. The system had just executed an emergency lockdown and sealed off the entrance to the said corridor. Shion miserably laid her eyes on the steadily diminishing countdown. "It's really happening... It's exactly the same as the last time..."

The image of death strewn across an entire area sailed past her mind. She recalled the way she tightly embraced the lifeless body of Kevin Winnicot against her own as a bolt of lightning flashed. Thunder rumbled in its wake, which rendered her anguished cry unheard, while she desperately touched the deceased man's still hand to her cheek. In response, Kevin's head fell limply to a side, which exposed a crystal pendant that rested beneath his uniform. A sob racked through her shivering form; her worst fear has been confirmed. The woman numbly stared forward. There, amidst the fatality, KOS-MOS stood.

At the shrill tones that pierced the entirety of the battleship, the tragic memories receded only to be replaced by an intense feeling of frightful anticipation. "Oh no! What is it now!"

"What is it now!" Captain Moriyama echoed the woman's concern as the alarm droned noisily in the compact area of the bridge.

"Detecting a large-scale spatial distortion ahead of us! An enormous mass is gating out!"

"Impossible!" The Captain exclaimed in defiance. "We're still outside the column area! That's..."

"The UMN geodesic structure is being breached!"

"The target... it appears to be interacting with the UMN somehow!"

Moriyama calm front wavered. "It's being hacked! That's possible!"

"Massive gravity fluctuations! Surface anomalies forming in space-time!"

"Impossible!" A navigator yelled at the top of his voice. "That defies all laws of physics!"

"Computing mass--the numbers are completely inconsistent! I can't get a clear reading! Whatever it is, it's huge!"

"The amplitude...the hell? It's like a tidal wave! The readings are increasing! It's entering normal space! Captain!"

"...Captain!"

"Straight ahead! There it is!"

The Captain's exterior shattered at the barrage of reports. "Gnosis!" The magnitude of the situation dawned Moriyama as the armada of spectral phantoms came within their sight. AGWS were at once dispatched to combat the hostile entities despite the lack of the 100-Series Observational Units to back them up. In compensation, the Woglinde and her fleet fired their minor cannons in support. Nonetheless, they knew that they were fighting a losing battle. The best they could hope for was to stall for time and wish for something miraculous to occur.

Armed with translucent forms, the Gnosis had started to infiltrate the Woglinde's interior. A reserve unit, which was made up of a number of AGWS together with a squad of Weapons-Grade Realians, finished their preparations in the safety of one of the hangars.

**Shifting to DefCon1. Virgil, report your team to Sector D. Prevent the enemy forces from entering the reactor room.**

First Lieutenant Virgil boarded his mech and observed the combat Realians steadily marching in front of him. "Going into battle without an AGWS unit. What brave little soldiers they are... bring tears to my eyes..." He sarcastically commented. "Well, let's see how they do as shields."

In another sector of the ship, Gnosis closed in on three Federation Marine Corp. personnel. The men valiantly shot their rifles in defense of the retreating civilians but the bullets simply passed right through the creatures. A sickening crunch was heard as an unsuspecting Marine was defenselessly crushed by a Gnosis that materialized from just above him. One of the remaining pair lowered his weapon and stepped away in muted shock. Another Gnosis loomed forward and snatched him up by his neck and lifted him off the floor. His weapon slipped from his grasp whilst he struggled against the Gnosis' firm hold. The last man pitiably reached out for his companion and gaped as all color was drained from the suspended body before the victim shattered into wisps of dust. Dumbfounded, he fell on his back in horror as the Gnosis turned to him. His agonized plea reverberated throughout the narrow corridor before he, too, exploded to fine white dust.

"What in the world is going on!" Shion Uzuki rhetorically voiced as Gnosis closed in on her. With slight hesitation, she transmitted her MWS and recklessly aimed a fiery ether blast at one of the two. As she expected, the shot just went through the ghostly opponent. Without the Hilbert Waves to draw the Gnosis into the physical realm, they were practically invincible. Shion backed herself to a wall and gazed evenly at the specters before her. She waited for the opportune moment and sprinted right between the two. Shion then triggered a nearby crane, which carried containers that had volatile chemicals within them, to drop its load. A low wall of flames blazed up from the floor and separated her from the Gnosis. Without sparing them a second glance, Shion immediately rushed away to the next set of corridors.

As she rounded a corner, she spied a Gnosis located midway the length of the hallway. It was coming to her direction but Shion believed that it has yet to see her. Sincerely hopeful that her intuition was right, she darted back inside the Communication Room, which she had just recently passed, and concealed herself beneath one of its many consoles. She froze once she heard the Gnosis stomp by, virtually behind her if it weren't for the wall dividing them. She held her breath, curled herself to a tight ball, and dared not even blink until she heard the stomping noise no more. Shion belatedly peeked from the wide glass panel and scanned the exterior of the room. The creature was nowhere to be seen. She sighed the lungful of air she previously held and sank back down to her knees. It looked like she managed to get past the Gnosis... for now.

"Can't we stop it?" Allen pressed his subordinates in panic amidst the loud alarms. He scanned the scrolling warning messages before him and heavily pounded his fists on the desk in frustration.

"It's no use! It's not responding!"

"KOS-MOS is starting up in Auto-Mode!"

"Huh? Wait a sec!" Allen's voice shook in utter disbelief. "We disabled that mode after the incident! Only the Chief's terminal can enable it! Damn it! Why now..? Unless... it's reacting to... Gnosis..!" He sternly faced a researcher. "Where's the Chief?"

"She should be heading this way," the researcher hoped, "but the regular UNP channels are congested and I can't reach her."

"And the emergency lines?" Allen strained.

"I'm trying it right now!" Basil complied. His fingers nimbly commanded contact to their Chief Engineer. Both Allen and Togashi warily approached him only to hear a familiar ring of playful melody blast through the air.

For an instant, no matter how illogical the notion may have been, Allen thought that his superior had already made it safely back with them. But one look at the source of the sound proved him wrong. "Oh, great!" He slapped a hand to his forehead when his sight lingered on Shion's bunny-shaped UMN phone that flashed innocently by his superior's work station. All of a sudden, the entire laboratory was plunged into darkness. "What happened?" Allen exclaimed, temporary blinded.

"I don't know! The power just suddenly..." Togashi's statement faltered as light sparked at his right.

Allen turned his puzzled self towards the source of disturbance--KOS-MOS' maintenance bed. He took a step back as its lid gradually raised. "Wha..!"

Blue light eerily illuminated the laboratory as the mentioned lid completely lifted up. Thick gas seeped from the machine and enveloped the room with a mentally suffocating haze. Laid inside it was the initial cause of the Woglinde's panic, which was none other than the prototype battle android, KOSMOS. She raised a hand and pulled herself out of her mechanical coffin. Once both her metallic feet touched the floor, she proceeded to inspect her immediate surrounding.

KOS-MOS' sensors zoomed in on the image of a male, whom she quickly identified as Assistant Chief Engineer Allen Ridgely, who was rigidly standing a few meters in front of her. Hiding, behind the Assistant Chief Engineer was another male. She detected that the entire population located within the vicinity was showing the emotion of fear, which was sharply escalating to sheer terror with each second that passed by. She pinpointed herself as the source of personnel discomfort. The degree of impediment this problem caused to her mission was minimal. KOS-MOS heightened her scanner as she continued on to more imperative matter. She searched the entirety of the partial battleship, Woglinde, and located her target. Chief Engineer Shion Uzuki was currently positioned in the Communication Room. Finally, she continued on to one of the most critical parts of the mission. Her sensors focused on the locale of the Zohar. Hangar 1 was the immediate result. She noted a couple of people anxiously intent on accomplishing a certain activity in the hangar. She deduced that they would not be a problem. She ended the heightened scan after analyzing that all needed information had been gathered.

Allen stared at the still android in horror. This was the thing that destroyed so many lives two years ago. A side of him felt relieved that his superior was not here with them. Perhaps it was for the best that she left her only means of communication with them. That way, she would not be brought to harm's way. Although, the ship could be crawling with Gnosis by now. And KOS-MOS was their only hope of victory against the phantom creatures. But...

His thoughts were interrupted when KOS-MOS' vision shield retracted within her visor, revealing her beatific yet emotionless pale face and spectral red eyes. Allen's own eyes widened as the android advanced towards them, her steps precise. For the second time that day, Allen felt powerless.

---


End file.
